Landslide kills six as storm passes Mexico

Six people died when rocks crushed their houses in a landslide in the southern Mexican resort of Acapulco after tropical storm Henriette battered the country's Pacific coast, local authorities said.

"Six people died when rocks fell on their houses in two separate parts of Acapulco. The ground is unstable because of the rains over the last three days due to Henriette," civil protection spokeswoman Nadia Vela said.

Five of the dead were children, according to a report released by the city's civil protection authority.

The town has many flimsy houses built on an outlying hillside, which makes them particularly vulnerable to bad weather.

Last week 13 people died in Mexico when Hurricane Dean slammed in off the Caribbean and passed over the tourist beaches of the Yucatan peninsula in the east.

The US National Hurricane Centre warned that Henriette could become a full hurricane Saturday night or on Sunday (local time).

In its latest advisory, the centre said Henriette was passing Mexico some 145 kilometres south-west of the west coast town of Manzanillo.

Further north, a strong earthquake struck offshore from Mexico in the Gulf of California. There were no immediate reports of casualties.